Decisions
by GiRl-YoU-dOn'T-kNoW-176
Summary: It's been 2 months since he almost died and she kissed him but the problem is, they haven't spoken since. An unexpected person shows up at her door and she decides it's time to make a decision...Post E222. DxE. Oneshot.


**Hey everybody? how's it going? **

**This oneshot is post Ep222 that honestly popped into my head like two days ago. Lets just get anyone that is not Damon, Elena or Stefan out of our minds because this does not involve them. It is purely random and not very well thought out but I wanted it out since its somewhat been bugging me. Like the wise Damon Salvatore once said,**

** 'There's no such thing as a bad idea. Only poorly executed awesome ones.' **

**So lets take that into consideration and be very open minded about this. I really wanted it out before season 3 premiers because of weird reasons i don't expect anyone to understand. **

**I haven't been writing for the longest time so i am well aware that my writing is not the best so please, criticism is welcome but no flaming.**

**So here it is, i hope you enjoy. The waits been killing me and i seriously cannot wait to get me some Delena action this season!**

**Oh yeah, REVIEW! :)**

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><p><em>This is it.<em> Elena thought, pacing impatiently across the Gilbert household foyer. Her heart was racing and her stomach was constantly flipping as it entered her mind over and over that her college acceptance letter would come in at any moment and the rest of her life would be determined any second from now.

She had to say for herself, with a very impressive GPA and Sat score, getting into New York University would be easy but nevertheless, she was never the optimistic one and that led her into a serious nerve wracking state.

It had been a long time since she'd felt that way, granted getting an acceptance letter wasn't a life and death situation such as it had been almost every day when she was with Stefan and she was either trying to keep the people she loved safe or trying not to get herself killed.

As those thoughts flooded her mind, she momentarily forgot about her acceptance letter and thought about the past year. It wasn't easy. Everything seemed to be falling apart one by one once Stefan and Damon Salvatore entered her life and yet she decided that Stefan was worth all the trouble and pain the supernatural world had caused her because she loved him, but until a few months ago when her doppelganger, Katherine returned in attempts to break all hell loose in Mystic Falls, she started doubting her and Stefan's relationship and with so much happening, they never got a chance to figure themselves out.

Then of course, Damon got bit by a werewolf and Stefan sacrificed everything including her for the cure of the werewolf bite to serve Klaus, the most powerful being on the planet. While Stefan left with Klaus though, he had everyone fooled that he had lost control and completely succumbed to his vampire instincts when actually, he was trying to fool Klaus into believing he had while trying to find his weakness and end him. Which he did, after waking Klaus' entire family including Elijah and together, they were strong enough to kill him. After that, Stefan found his way back to Mystic Falls but by then Elena had somewhat moved on, well that's what he thought and decided that he had to let her live a normal life, after all Elena did mention that she never wanted to be what he was.

Their paths crossed sometimes and they stayed civil through it, but it was always awkward and as time grew, Elena turned eighteen, graduated senior year (something she thought she would never accomplish) and everything in her life seemed to go back to normal, except that at that point, the only real family she had was Jeremy.

The doorbell rang, bringing Elena out of her train of thoughts. She sucked in a deep breath and made her way to the door. Who she saw on the other end of the door was definitely not the postman, nor was it someone she expected; in fact he was probably the last person to expect.

As her dark chocolate eyes scanned Stefan's broad handsome face, her mind sought to find an answer to why he was at her doorstep after so long but nothing sensible came up and before she allowed her thoughts to stray into the worst case scenarios, she spoke up.

"Hey Stefan. It's good to see you. How have you been?" She fake smiled, hoping Stefan would not catch on that she was more surprised than anything at that moment.

"I'm doing okay. How about you? Congratulations on graduating!" He said, smiling genuinely.

"Thanks. Senior year was tough with everything. To be honest I didn't think I'd make it." She went on and then looked down, sensing that maybe that wasn't the best subject to talk about, especially since he was a big part of the past year. Elena took a breath and ran her fingers through her hair. Before Stefan could say anything though, Elena saw that Stefan's car was fully loaded with suitcases and then she noted the way he dressed, as though he was headed for a long journey.

"Are you going somewhere?" She managed to get out. Her eyebrows knitted and she felt her throat constricting.

"Yeah, actually I am. It's time I moved on from Mystic Falls…for good from Katherine, and doppelgangers. It's time to start over, besides people will start getting curious, since I'm not growing and all." He explained, avoiding looking Elena in the eye.

"So you came to say goodbye." She stated, nodding, trying to process everything. She flashed a fake smile. "So where are you going?"

"Italy, for a while. I'll visit some old friends and then figure things out from there… It'll be a good change of scenery." He replied, looking right through her fake smile, knowing how hard she was trying to keep up her mask.

Elena simply nodded and begged for the tears that threatened to come to go away. Even though they hadn't been in touch for a long time, she didn't want him to go. He had played a big role in her life, and she still cared for him, no matter how they ended.

"Well then I guess I should get going." Stefan said awkwardly and Elena nodded again, pursing her lips to keep her from crying.

"Good luck Stefan." She said, and her voice cracked but she managed to keep up a strong face.

"Thank you. Take care, Elena." Stefan smiled and then turned to walk towards his car. Before he got there, Elena stopped him.

"Stefan wait!"Elena called, and now the tears were pouring uncontrollably. "I know that we didn't end properly and you had to go through so much for me, but I still care for you deeply even though we haven't been in touch. You hold a special place in my heart, and you will forever. I don't want to lose you." She wept. Stefan smiled reassuringly and pulled her into a consoling hug.

"You won't lose me." He whispered into her hair as she cried into his chest.

"I can't do this anymore." He heard her mumble and he knew exactly what that meant. That she loved him, but somehow it was the perfect thing to say at that moment because it may have hurt a whole lot more leaving her had she said 'I love you.'

He hated leaving her, but he had to. He couldn't handle the pain and he knew how much it hurt Damon to see him and Elena together, when he was the one who really really loved her. And he knew it wasn't one sided, he knew it was inevitable, that someday Elena would love Damon back. Maybe Elena didn't realize it for herself or maybe she did not want to betray Stefan but he had to let her know that he was okay with it.

"Me either." He simply replied. "Take care of Damon for me, will you?"

Elena pulled away and scanned Stefan's bright Jade eyes, questioningly to which she got a nod and encouraging smile in return. She nodded and just before Stefan made his way to his car, he planted a short kiss on Elena's forehead.

"Stay in touch and have a safe trip." She called out to him as he backed out of her driveway. And then he was gone.

Elena wiped her tears away and made her way back into her house.

Damon.

How was he?

The last time she'd seen him was two months ago, at his deathbed until of course he was cured of the wolf bite. His near death experience had faced her with the truth that she cared deeply about him too and she could not let him die, at any cost. But when she thought all hope was lost, she decided to face the truth head on and accept her feelings towards him, which caused her to kiss him. They hadn't had a chance to talk about the kiss, or her feelings and Stefan having gone had only complicated things. Every time that she tried to call him, or talk to him, he would somehow find a way to avoid her and she did not understand why he was pushing her away.

Meeting Stefan after so long though made her decide one thing. That she needed to see him, and see him as soon as possible. She quickly grabbed her leather jacket, got in her car and drove to the boarding house.

Her stomach was flipping even more than it had ever but she was determined and she was going to see Damon and set things straight with him, no matter the price.

As she stood on the Salvatore boarding house porch, she felt a sense of safety and familiarity but at the same time, she felt like a stranger. She hadn't been there for so long when for a while, this was her second home.

Shrugging those thoughts away, she took a step closer to the large wooden door and knocked gently.

There was no answer.

Sighing, she tried again, only this time harder. The door creaked open and she decided to step into the house after receiving no answer again.

It was exactly the same as she had remembered it. Clean and tidy, with ancient, expensive things decorating the century old house.

"Coming in uninvited is also known as barging in or breaking an entry, you know. It's a serious offence." She heard that perfect voice mocking her from a distance and even though it wasn't a very genuine welcome, she was thankful for it. Damon stepped into the parlor, looking as beautiful as he could possibly look to her; with his aquamarine eyes glowing, and every tight line, curve and contour of his handsome face illuminated under the warm sunlight. He was walking around the boarding house shirtless, with a glass of his favorite bourbon and she couldn't think straight for that moment all she wanted was to run her fingers down his rock hard abs.

"I knocked." She said, shrugging as he turned his back to her, searching for a book on the large bookshelf lining the wall.

"I know." Damon sang, curtly still not turning to face her. Elena sensed his coldness and knew that he really didn't want her there, but she was there for a reason, and she wasn't going to turn back, not when she was this close. And so she decided it was time to cut to the chase.

"Damon." Elena sighed. "Why have you been avoiding me for the past two months?" Damon finally turned around to face her and narrowed his eyes at her.

"See Elena, I could answer that and we could have a very long and boring conversation, or you can leave and I can go back to doing what it was that I was so peacefully doing before you so rudely intruded." Damon drawled and then added, with a tight smile; "And I'd very much prefer the latter."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Stefan came over today. He's leaving." She said, completely ignoring what he said.

"Well, seeing as my wishes are completely being ignored here and what I suggested isn't exactly going to work out, I might as well continue regardless of you being here." Damon shot her a sinister glare before grabbing a book and disappearing to his bedroom. Elena followed, not caring about what he had just said but the moment she stepped into his room, which was neat and tidy as always. Everything thing was exactly where it was as she remembered from two months ago…well, except for the two large suitcases that sat empty at the foot of his bed. And then it all clicked.

"You're leaving too." Elena realized, the look of horror consuming her face as Damon carelessly opened random drawers and emptied them out into the suitcases. Elena watched as Damon sucked in a deep breath, held it in for a second and let it out, pinching the bridge of his nose for another long second before turning to face her.

"Elena." He said strongly. "I'm going to make this as clear as I possibly can. You. Are. Not. Wanted. Here." He stressed slowly, as though speaking to a little child. But Elena completely ignored it.

"And you were going to leave without saying goodbye? Why?" She herself could hear her voice cracking as she felt her throat tighten and the tears threatened to overflow. She knew she was playing with fire and that she would not get much out of Damon but she needed to. And as he turned away and continued filling his suitcase, his next answer felt like another jab to her heart.

"I don't need to explain myself to you." He said; his voice sharp enough to cut through ice.

"Fine." Elena huffed and the tears came. "But now that you're leaving and you've decided that you want nothing to do with me, you should know one thing. You always claimed you loved me and somehow, even through doing horrible things like killing Jeremy, feeding me your blood and treating me like a fragile little doll, I always gave you another chance, and I would never be able to come up with a proper answer when I asked myself 'Why? Why am I letting him in again when he's going to do something to hurt me again like he always does?' And then you would always push me to face my feelings but I never wanted to, because I was afraid. I didn't want to be like Katherine, who I hated for what she did to you and Stefan, and then Stefan; I would hate myself if I did that to him. But then you almost dying really made me realize that my life would not be the same without you. I couldn't let you die because I did have feelings for you. And that kiss, it meant something to me. It really did. But if you want to push me away, I guess there isn't much I can do about that."

A moment of silence passed them, as Elena waited for something, anything from Damon but when she got nothing she felt as though a hole had been created in her chest. She felt empty and in pain.

"Well then I guess I should let you get back to packing. Have a good life Damon." She said strongly, and then made her way to her car.

She had just bared her soul out to him, and what did she get in return. Absolutely nothing. Not one single word. All she wanted to do that moment was to cry her heart out and just forget everything; everything that had happened the past year. All she wanted was to wake up and realize that everything had only been a dream. But it hadn't. And it couldn't.

"Screw you Damon. I hate you!" She said with vehemence, well aware that he could hear her as she backed out of his driveway.

The drive home was uneventful and did nothing to cheer her up, in fact, it did quite the opposite. She'd never felt more stupid or rejected in her life and the intense feelings caused her to pullover and break down for what seemed like forever. Even the music on the radio didn't seem to cheer her up and as the song 'Say All I Need' by OneRepublic blared from the speakers, it only reminded her of how simple her life used to be as she remembered when she heard the song for the first time when her life was picture perfect; when vampires, werewolves, witches and doppelgangers didn't exist. When she was just an average girl with an amazing family she loved and amazing friends that didn't have the ability to float feathers with their mind, nor friends whose instincts were to kill, nor friends that morphed into wolves every time there was a full moon.

When she finally reached home, her eyes were puffy and her nose pink, but she felt relatively better. It was dinner time, but she had lost her appetite completely. All she wanted to do was call it a day and head to bed since she was exhausted both physically and emotionally from all that crying.

As she entered her bedroom though, she felt as though the wind was knocked out of her lungs at the sight in front of her. Damon sat on her window seat, as still and as beautiful as ever, almost looking like a priceless Greek Adonis statue. For a moment, she felt as though the past few hours of crying and regretting hadn't happened, and her life was as perfect as it could be until she realized that she couldn't let him win this time and within one second, her anger flared.

"Who's intruding now? You are not wanted here!" Elena stubbornly said, glaring at Damon who said nothing but watched her for a moment.

"You got accepted." He simply said, holding up her acceptance letter. "But why New York?" he asked curiously. Elena's eyes widened and she crossed the room in an instant and snatched the letter out of his hand. Had he ever heard of privacy? Well, apparently not. She quickly shoved the letter into one of her drawers in her dresser, not bothered by the verdict as she had more pressing issues she needed to sort out first.

"What the hell, Damon? Some things are private." She scolded, turning to face him, the fire in her eyes almost resembling molten lava.

"You were supposed to stop me." Damon said, as though making a confession after a moment of silence passed the two. Elena wasn't sure if she just imagined it, but he sounded somewhat…vulnerable? It definitely caught her off guard and she only stared at his handsome for a moment and then looked at her converse shoes, speechless.

"Why? Why didn't you stop me?" He demanded, standing up.

"Because you didn't want to be stopped." Elena spoke in a small voice, not meeting his eyes as he slowly walked closer to where she was standing.

"Yes I did, Elena. For the past fucking two months I've been waiting for you to come to me and ask me, why the hell have I been pushing you away? Do you have any idea how much, Elena? And then you never came and I couldn't take it anymore. I decided that kiss meant absolutely nothing to you and that it was out of pity, that you hated me for putting you through all that pain and that it was best for you if I left." Damon confessed; a pained expression on his face that pulled on Elena's heart strings. It should have been the other way around. She had been the one to put him through so much pain, rejecting him every time he'd let his heart out and she couldn't blame him from being so cold and retreated towards her that morning.

"See that's where you're wrong. You people have always decided for me; never let me make my own decisions. I know you think you're protecting me and granted, some of my decisions have not been the smartest choices but I deserve the right to make my own mistakes and find my own solutions. You can't just decide when to walk into my life and when to not. This is my life and my decisions."

"Then what, Elena? Should I have waited for you forever?" Damon asked impatiently.

"No, you could've come for me, Damon, like in every story, how the guy goes back to the girl-"

"Is that what you think this is? A love story like Twilight that you read and get satisfaction out of? No Elena, what we are is nothing like that, had it actually been a story, I'd be the villain and you'd be the heroine and in the end, the villain never gets what he wants! I'm supposed to die…" Damon interrupted harshly.

"No Damon, you are not the villain."

"But-"

"And if you are so hell bent on being the villain, fine, then let's just say that breaking rules is our thing." Elena told him.

"What did you really think that you'd get out of being with me? I'm not Stefan. I don't do good. I'm definitely not going to start drinking bunny blood. I'm impulsive and reckless and at the end of the day, I'm still going to be a vampire. I'm still going to want to kill. I can promise you I'll try to control myself but I can't promise more than that. That's something I can't change." Damon looked her deep in the eye. "This is your chance to back out, do it."

"No Damon, I'm not going to back out. I don't want you to change yourself. I told you, I like you the way you are now. I trust you. I have faith in you and I know you will do everything in your power to stay in control. You really are not the monster that you tag yourself to be." Elena said stretching her arm out to touch his cheek.

"Stop doing that! Stop trying to see good in me. There isn't any, and if you really believe all that junk you just said, then you're a stupid, stupid girl." Damon said, flinching away from her soft touch.

"Then call me a jackass." Elena said softly. Instead of Damon's anger flaring, as expected it would, he cracked up.

"You're becoming more like me." He chuckled; finally let her touch his face as he leaned into her hand. Elena just smiled.

"After all, I am learning from the best."

"You're making this impossible, Elena!"

"And you're just being difficult!" Elena countered just as strongly. "I want this Damon. I really don't know where this will take us, or how it will be, but I want this. We can't say that we won't work without giving us a try. That would just be giving up, and I don't want to give up on you."

"But…" Damon interjected lamely, looking at his feet.

"No buts. I know you want this too. Just take a leap of faith with me. Please." She pleaded, orienting his face so she could meet his sky-blue eyes. She gave him an encouraging smile as he watched her face.

And then everything was a blur as his soft lips pressed against hers. They moved roughly, but passionately and she was compelled to respond with as much force as she could possibly muster. She completely melted into him the moment Damon's fingers gripped her waist firmly, pulling her closer to him. Her arms snaked around his neck and soon her legs too were tightly wrapped around his waist. Then she could hear the wind whipping past her, but she couldn't be bothered what was happening as she danced on the boundaries of oblivion, only noting that one second she was pushed against her dresser, the next the wall and the next the soft mattress of her bed.

When the need for oxygen came up though, she was forced to pull away. Panting heavily in attempts to regulate her breathing, her eyes locked with Damon's and she realized she had never seen them so fiery and livid ever before. Not before a kill, not before a fight; not before anything and she couldn't help but stare.

"I love you." She breathed before her even realizing it. She immediately regretted it when Damon's expression hardened. It probably was too soon. They hadn't even established themselves and she had to go ruin it by saying the godforsaken 'L' word. She knew he loved her and she didn't want him to think she was making a joke out of it or taking advantage of it but before she could take her words back Damon stopped her.

"I love you too." He said and then smiled, which was probably one of the first smiles she had ever seen out of him since he had always flashed a grin, a smirk, or a fake smile but never a real genuine smile, and she loved it.

Within one second, Damon was gone, the window was pulled down, the door was shut, the lights dimmed and Damon was back, kissing Elena heatedly. She managed to emit a giggle and soon enough their clothing articles were scattered all over the room, forgotten as Damon and Elena engaged themselves in certain activities…

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><p>Damon loved Elena's room for many reasons, such as how every little corner or little object reminded him of her. There was not one thing in her room which made him wonder why a girl like Elena would keep such a thing. Another reason would have to be that no matter how sappy or girly it sounded, he loved the smell since it smelt just like her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but it definitely reminded him of strawberries. One of his favorite reasons would have to concern the activities they carried out in that very room that he had only imagined every time he walked into the room before or laid eyes on her bed.<p>

But there was one thing he most definitely hated about her room and that was that it faced east, which meant once the sun rose, the room was immediately illuminated by the sunlight. There was a perfectly rational explanation to why he had heavy double curtains lining his windows, and that was that he hated the sunlight shining on his face first thing in the morning because that woke him up instantly.

Had it been any other morning he'd wake up that way, he'd give King Grumpyguts a run for his money, but this morning however he wasn't exactly glad the sunlight woke him up, but he couldn't care less. He was…what did they call it…ah, yes. He was walking on sunshine and he'd never be caught dead saying that, but he enjoyed feeling that way.

All thanks to Elena. His Elena. His light, which guided him towards the end of the dark tunnel.

A smile crept on his face as he watched her perfect angelic features. His eyes studied every delicate line, every curve, and every contour of her beautiful face. He couldn't believe how he'd come to acquire such a priceless gem, but he was sure he was never letting it go. He did warn her to back out and she didn't which meant they'd crossed the line, and there was no turning back. There was no way in hell, or heaven she was getting rid of him now. Not ever, even if that meant following her to New York and going through the torture of college all over again.

He felt her relaxed form shift a little and he caught the small smile that crept onto her face. Even though her eyes didn't open, he knew that she was awake.

"Good morning sunshine." He sang into her ear. Her response was a moan as she snuggled closer into his chest, tightening her arms around his torso.

"Oh come on Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up." He said again, poking her shoulders but she only snuggled further into his chest.

"I missed you." Elena mumbled as Damon stroked her bare shoulder with his thumb. Damon smirked.

"Of course you missed me. I mean, who wouldn't miss my crazy one-liners, my dashing looks and not to mention, my amazing vamp sex." Damon said cockily. Elena felt her cheeks ablaze at the latter part and she quickly sat up and slapped him across the arm.

"Oh come on, Elena what are we, two? You shouldn't be ashamed of the word. You are after all, a mature adult aren't you?" Damon teased sitting up too.

"It's not that-" Elena whined shaking her head, holding the duvet close to her chest.

"Then what is it? Memories from last night, like when I touched-"

"Damon!" Elena squealed, cutting him off.

"And it wasn't my vamp sex, I totally believe you." Damon laughed heartily.

"You know what surprises me? The fact that with everything that has happened the past few months, your big-ass ego is still intact." Elena mused.

"Babe, even a second death can't take my ego away from me. We're a two for one deal. You should've known what you were getting yourself into before you signed the contract. Now isn't it a shame that you can't get yourself out." Damon tutted.

"Well, you see, this contract wasn't really signed black and white, so I can always get myself out of it." Elena countered.

Before the banter could go on further, Elena's stomach rumbled. A normal human couldn't have heard it but Damon did, loud and clear.

"Okay, breakfast time." Damon announced, flashing Elena a wicked smile. "Wait, let me rephrase, Breakfast time for the human."

"Are you sure you haven't read Twilight? Edward says those exact words to Bella." Elena arched her eyebrow at Damon who huffed.

"Do I look like I'd read Twilight? It's just some sappy crap made for squealing teenage girls. They didn't even get the vampires right! What kind of retarded person thinks vampires sparkle in the sunlight?" Damon demanded, getting out of bed and pulling on his boxer shorts.

"So you have read it." Elena laughed hysterically while Damon scowled at her.

"Fine, I have read it but that doesn't mean I liked it. I was bored and it was there on Caroline's table so I decided to see what the whole craze was all about." Damon explained.

"Sure you did." Elena teased, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Shut up, Elena."

"Make me."

"You won't have to ask me a second time." He said smirking at her. He quickly pecked her lips hard, and he was gone within a flash leaving a disoriented Elena with his shirt in her lap.

"Chop chop Human!" She heard him call from the kitchen and she smiled, putting the shirt on.

This decision was surely her most confusing and hardest one to make, and even though she mostly acted on her instincts, she was sure this was one of the best ones she'd made in the longest time.

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><p><strong>I know, choppy but please review! <strong>


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